From: benlizro@ihug.co.nz   
      
   American army surgeon, served in the Civil War.   
   His mental condition led to his being discharged from the army.   
   Went to London for a change of scene in 1871, but things got worse and   
   he shot and killed a total stranger in the street.   
   Found not guilty by reason of insanity, sent to Broadmoor Asylum at   
   Crowthorne (Berkshire). He was comfortably accomodated and respectfully   
   treated, could receive visitors, and had the wherewithal to order all   
   the books he wanted.   
      
   And here is the language connection:   
      
   During the four decades he spent there, he became one of the most   
   prolific contributors of citations to the Oxford English Dictionary.   
      
   The story is told in Simon Winchester's _The Surgeon of Crowthorne_ (US   
   title _The Madman and the Professor*_).   
   (*Stupid title. The "Professor" is James Murray of OED fame; but Murray   
   was never a Professor, and didn't even have a university degree until he   
   got a couple of honoraries very late in his life.)   
      
   Minor's condition became much worse after the turn of the century. As a   
   result of a campaign led by Murray, the Home Secretary (one Winston   
   Churchill) had him released, and he was deported back to the USA. He   
   spent some time in St. Elizabeth's Hospital, Washington (which later   
   housed Ezra Pound) and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. (!) Died in 1920.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)